Abstract:
We use qualitative and quantitative methods to explore social and spatial relationships
between land ownership and forest cover in the Oregon Coast Range. Using a
Geographic Information System (GIS) and regression analysis, we tested for spatial
relationships between the structure of land ownership and forest cover across 66
watersheds in the Oregon Coast Range. We found that forest cover diversity increased
with land ownership diversity in these watersheds. Likewise the size and connectivity of
forest patches were found to increase with the size and connectivity of land ownership
patches respectively (land ownership structure of explains 38% of the variability of
forest cover structure across these watersheds). We conclude that landscapes with mixed
ownership provide greater habitat diversity, while landscapes with concentrated
ownership provide less diverse but more connected forest habitat. Using qualitative
research methods we conducted an exploratory case study of one Coast Range watershed
to examine possible explanations for relationships between ownership and forest cover.
In our case study we found land ownership to change dramatically over time. We also
found economic, cultural, and environmental factors all to influence landowner decisions
with respect to land use, management, and tenure. We conclude that interactions between
these factors are recommend that future studies address this complexity, either in
predictive models or policy suggestions. We also recommend that future research in
landscape ecology address dynamics of land ownership by updating ownership maps and
the ways in which owners are classified.
